8:15p EDT Wednesday, December 13, 2000 Dear Friend of GATA and Gold: Thanks so much to GATA's special friend in Belgium who sent the dispatch below showing how our message and lawsuit are being publicized around the world. He shows how all of us who are interested in gold can help the cause even if we can't afford large financial contributions. He has asked not to be identified here. CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc. * * * Today the leading Belgian financial newspaper, De Financieel Economische Tijd, published an article on the lawsuit filed by Reg Howe. I've translated it from Dutch to the best of my ability. Don't hesitate to contact me whenever you have questions about things happening here in Europe (specifically in Belgium) concerning the gold cause. I will keep urging Belgian media to cover your actions and send word on the rigged gold market in general, and will report on anything I read or discover that might help you guys. Together we'll win! * * * De Financieel Economische Tijd Wednesday, December 13, 2000 (Page 10) Shareholder Accuses BIS of gold manipulation; Bank of banks rejects accusation (Tijd/Reuters) -- Reginald Howe, gold analyst and shareholder of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), has instituted legal proceedings against the BIS, the bank of the central banks. Howe accuses the BIS, five investment banks, and officials of the American Treasury and the Federal Reserve of manipulation of the gold price. Howe also rejects the buyout offer of the BIS as too low. According to the BIS, the accusation doesn't make sense. On Monday Howe filed the lawsuit in Boston with the support of the Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee (GATA). GATA (www.gata.org) is a group of gold bugs who see a conspiracy behind the low gold price. GATA is convinced that various Wall Street houses with the BIS, the Federal Reserve, and the American Treasury conspire to artificially depress the gold price. According to GATA, the American investment banks benefit from a low gold price because they have enormous short positions on gold and can avoid huge losses only by plotting together. Howe adopts this reasoning. He accuses the Bank for International Settlements, which itself is a substantial owner of gold and an active trader in gold, of price fixing, securities fraud, and breach of trust. The banks J.P. Morgan, Chase Manhattan, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, and Deutsche Bank also have been summoned. Furthermore, Howe says, officials of the Treasury go beyond their authority. Also, according to Howe, directors of the Fed can't have a seat on the Board of Directors of the BIS. Among others, Fed chairman Alan Greenspan has being sued by Howe. Howe demands that the Treasury and the Fed stop intervening in the gold market and that the investment banks stop manipulating the gold price. Howe also alleges that the BIS plans to pay its private shareholders less than fair value in its current buyout offer. In September the BIS announced a plan to buy out its 6,000 private shareholders at 16,000 Swiss francs per share. This is unacceptably low, many shareholders think, because J.P. Morgan calculated the fair value at 33,950 Swiss franc per share. Deminor, the legal agency that defends minority shareholders, is also involved with this case. The BIS rejected Howe's lawsuit as "baseless." "The BIS is informed about the lawsuit, but considers it without merit," said BIS spokeswoman Margaret Critchlow. -END- -------------------------- eGroups Sponsor -------------------------~-~> <FONT COLOR="#000099">eLerts It's Easy. It's Fun. Best of All, it's Free! </FONT><A HREF="http://click.egroups.com/1/9699/0/_/126/_/976757604/"><B>Click Here!</B></A> ---------------------------------------------------------------------_->
